


Declamationem de Affectione

by freeshipping



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Angst, College AU, Crush, Cute, Destiel - Freeform, Flirting, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, School, Silly, Smart Castiel, i'm sorry for all the cheesiness, shmoopy, smart but stubborn dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-02
Updated: 2014-03-02
Packaged: 2018-01-14 06:13:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1255855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freeshipping/pseuds/freeshipping
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Cas is the most unconventional Latin tutor Dean has ever had</p>
            </blockquote>





	Declamationem de Affectione

**Author's Note:**

> Based on these lovely posts: [[1]](http://snugglescas.tumblr.com/post/76662349003/your-buttocks-are-a-reminder-to-me-of-the) [[2]](http://snugglescas.tumblr.com/post/77863032731/deans-latin-is-still-terrible-and-mines-iffy)

It was only the second class of the semester, and Dean Winchester was already late.

It wasn’t that he was an irresponsible student, (because he really wasn’t), it was just that Latin had never been his strong point, and he found languages in general (especially dead ones) to be painfully boring. Unfortunately, even mechanical engineers needed humanities credits, and Latin was only slightly more bearable that poetry or history. 

So it was Dean’s reluctance (in the form of groaning and feet-dragging) that made him late to class  that day, and he regretted it almost as soon as he stepped through the doors. He felt every pair of eyes turn to him, including Professor Singer’s.

“Mr. Winchester,” Singer sighed, “I see that you have no intention of being a more dedicated student this semester than the last one.”

“I, uh, didn’t mean…” Dean mumbled. 

“Sit down,” Singer growled, “I’ll see you after class.” 

It was difficult for Dean to focus on the lesson when his thoughts kept drifting nervously to the thought that Singer might legitimately throw him out of class this time. He had threatened to do so before, but his threats had always been empty. Dean worried that he had finally pushed his luck and the professor’s patience too far. 

Even more distracting was the gorgeous new TA perched at Singer’s desk, grading papers with a pair of spectacles perched on the end of his nose. As much as Dean tried to keep his eyes from wandering, he was still a college student who hadn’t gone on a date in months.The senior TA seemed a little too pretty to be real, with his deep blue eyes and softly curling hair that Dean was dying to run his fingers through and tug on until the other man screamed-- 

He tried to keep his eyes on the board. 

When Dean approached his professor after class, he was pleasantly surprised to find that Singer seemingly wasn’t angry about his increasingly poor timing. 

“Dean, I’m worried about you,” Singer began in a matter-of-fact tone. “I’m well aware that this class isn’t your main concern right now, but you do need to pass in order to graduate on time. I think what you need right now is a tutor.”

Dean groaned inwardly, and his displeasure must have shown because Singer immediately held up a hand, saying “Shut your mouth and listen to me. I’m just trying to make things easier for you. You’ll be meeting with Mr. Novak once a week to work. I’ll let him figure out the specifics.”

It took Dean’s brain a moment to process the fact that Singer was gesturing to his beautiful TA, who had wandered over and was standing shyly about five feet away from them. “I have another class coming in,” Singer continued, “So if you two idjits could please go elsewhere and figure out a schedule, that would be much appreciated.”

This couldn’t be happening to him. Dean didn’t want the gorgeous Mr. Novak to think he was just a stupid underclassman, but it seemed like there was no escaping it. Dean was certain that as soon as the upperclassman saw how terrible Dean was at Latin he would lose all interest, not that it mattered anyways. It wasn’t like Dean even knew the guy. 

Once they were out in the hall, Dean made a feeble attempt to pull himself together long enough to introduce himself, but it seemed like Mr. Novak wasn’t interested in being friendly. “We will meet on Saturday mornings at nine, at the campus cafe,” he told Dean, his voice much deeper and gruffer than Dean had imagined. “Here is my name and phone number if you should need to contact me.” He handed Dean a slip of paper and hurried away before Dean could say a word. He glanced down at the paper in his hand.

“Castiel Novak,” it read. “114-7512.” 

“Castiel,” Dean said slowly, feeling the way the word rolled off his tongue. It was a little too long, he decided. He like the sound of “Cas” much better.

~ * ~

“I read through your papers from last semester,” Castiel began as soons as Dean sat down, “And I have a good idea of what we need to work on--”

“What,” Dean interrupted, “No good morning?” 

Castiel squinted at him. “We are here to learn, Dean,” he replied, “Not to socialize.”

Dean sighed. “Yeah, of course,” he mumbled. “What were you saying?”

“I think we should focus on your reading and comprehension,” Castiel continued, “and improvement on your writing skills will follow.”

“Sure.” 

“I will be giving you various materials to read and you will demonstrate your understanding of them at our meetings each week. Does this seem acceptable to you?”

“Yeah, sure.” Dean was trying so hard to care, but he was already yawning despite the coffee sitting in front of him.

Castiel pulled a dusty paperback out of his bag and handed it across the table to Dean. “ _ The Hobbit, _ by J. R. R. Tolkien,” he said by way of introduction. “Have you read it?”

“Um… no.” Dean typically wasn’t one to go for this type of geeky reading material, far preferring action movies to books in general. 

Castiel gave him a pleased smile, making Dean feel as though he had done something right when he had, in fact, done nothing at all. “It is one of my favorites. I think you will like it.”

Dean flipped through first few pages skeptically. “They translated the English version in to Latin a few years ago, specifically for students such as yourself,” Castiel continued. “It is a very good translation and I think you will gain much from it.” 

He stood up and began to gather his belongings, Dean’s eyes following his every calculated movement. “Please read the first five chapters and we will discuss it next saturday.”

Dean nodded. “Sounds good,” he agreed. He couldn’t help but be relieved at the briefness of their meeting. He had been bracing himself for something much more intense. 

~ * ~

The next two meetings were similar to the first one. Dean and Castiel would sit down and immediately begin working without so much as a ‘hello.’ Dean didn’t really mind the formal setting -- it was similar to the class atmosphere and it made it easier for his to focus. Besides, it was probably better that him and Cas didn’t get too friendly. Dean knew he didn’t have a chance with Cas, and it helped him keep his mind on the task at hand, rather than letting it wander to Cas’s cute sex hair, his mild scruff, his deep, gravelly voice… 

Yeah, it was so easy for Dean to focus. 

Or it had been easy, until Cas gave Dean his first translation assignment at their fourth meeting. Up until then, they had been discussing  _ The Hobbit _ and going over any questions Dean had (of which there were plenty). Dean was actually beginning to enjoy the book, despite the fact that it was in Latin. It had a surprising amount of action in it, which he could really appreciate. (His enjoyment of it had nothing to do with the fact that it had been given to him by a certain sexy upperclassman.)

“I think it’s time to give you a little more homework,” Cas mentioned during one meeting.

“But--”

Cas help up a hand at Dean’s protest. “Just a few sentences to translate into English. Nothing big.”

Dean sighed. “You’re the tutor,” he grumbled. 

The exercises  _ were  _ pretty easy. The first few were basic: “Pie is delicious.” “Homework is my least favorite thing.” “It took Alfie five hours to get to the train station.” 

That was… until he got to the last one. The phrase read “Natibus monumento mini benedictonum deorum.” Dean was sure he was sure he was mistranslating something, because his answer couldn’t possibly be right right. After all, hadn’t Cas written these himself?

According to Dean’s rough translation, the phrase read “Your buttocks are a reminder to me of the blessings of the gods.”

He had to be doing something wrong. 

~ * ~

It had been a month since Cas had started giving Dean translation exercises, and the phrases had been growing increasingly flirtatious, featuring gems such as “your freckles make my heart sing with joy” and “the green of your eyes is my new favorite color.” 

However, Cas refused to acknowledge the contents of any of the exercises, changing the subject whenever Dean would bring it up. All he would say was that Dean’s translations were, in fact, correct. Dean finally stopped trying to bring it up, instead content to translate the phrases Cas gave him and be happy he was getting this much. 

His crush on the handsome mentor was really beginning to get out of hand, and Cas’s sly flirtations weren’t helping anything. Still, Dean knew what this was. Upperclassmen  _ loved _ to torment guys like him, and as much as Dean wished there were more to it than that, he knew Cas would never act on it. 

They had begun to act more friendly as well, and Cas had even slipped up on a couple of occasions and allowed a little personal conversation during their sessions. 

During this week’s meeting, Ccas seemed a little distracted, his eyes constantly flitting around the coffee shop and his hands seemingly unable to keep still. 

“Okay,” Dean said finally, setting down his pencil and looking Cas straight in the eye. “You wanna tell me what’s going on?”

Cas gave a little sigh and sat back in his chair. “It’s nothing,” he replied glumly, “I mean, it’s silly.”

“So tell me.” Dean desperately wanted this beautiful man to open up to him.

“It’s just…” Cas shifted slightly, looking slightly uncomfortable, and kept his eyes trained on the table. “There’s this guy… that I might have a crush on. I guess I have for a couple months, and I keep sending him hints but it doesn’t seem like he’s picking up on them. I don’t know what more I have to do to get his attention.” 

“Oh.” Dean felt his heart sink. Cas liked someone else. That was okay, really. Dean had always known he didn’t have a shot with someone like Cas. Someone this gorgeous and brilliant and compassionate… 

He snapped himself out of his thoughts and back to the dejected man seated across from him. “Well, uh, maybe you’re not being obvious enough,” Dean said carefully, “Or - or maybe he’s too shy to speak up and he’s waiting for you to make the first move.” 

“Or maybe he just doesn’t like me.”

“No, Dean replied, perhaps a little too forcefully. “Don’t think that way,” he continued, softening his tone. “Cas, any guy would be lucky to have you. You -- you’re sweet and attractive and freaking brilliant, so don’t, don’t think…” He trailed off as he noticed Cas frowning, realizing his mistake too late. 

“Cas,” he said slowly, “You just called me Cas.” 

Up until then, Dean had only called him ‘Mr. Novak,’ Cas being the nickname he used in him imagination.

“I -- sorry, Cas -- um, Mr. Novak,” Dean stammered.

“No, it’s alright.” Cas gave him a rare smile and Dean felt his heart leap. “I like it.” 

~ * ~

After Dean finished reading  _ The Hobbit, _ Cas had given him another novel to read (not that Dean minded -- he had ended up liking the book after all), and in return Dean lent Cas his copy of  _ The Matrix _ . He thought that Cas should probably take a break from all that stifling literature and watch something good for a change. 

Cas returned the DVD to him two days later with a smile, stopping by Dean’s dorm to do so. 

“You liked it?”

“Of course, Dean,” Cas replied, “I found it very entertaining. The concept that we are all inside a simulation is one I find intriguing, if not also disturbing.”

Dean laughed. “Glad you enjoyed it.” He paused, realizing Cas was leaning against the doorway to his room. “Do you wanna come in?” he offered. 

Cas shook his head. “Sorry Dean, I have class.” He looked truly regretful. “But.. .I’m free later. Here, I’ll write my room number down for you in case you want to stop by. You know, if you feel like it.” He fumbled for a pen, nearly dropping his books as he hastily scribbled on a slip of notebook paper. 

Dean swallowed nervously as he took it. Was this an actual invitation to spend time with Cas outside of their meetings? “Sure, yeah, I might take you up on that.”  _ Definitely _ , he thought as the door swung closed. 

It wasn’t until later that evening when Dean thought to put the DVD away. As he picked it up, a folded piece of paper fell out of the case and drifted down to the floor. 

His curiosity piqued, Dean lifted the paper and smoothed it out, his eyes scanning the sheet. It was a veritable essay written all in Latin. The title at the top read “Declamationem de affectione Dean.” 

Dean sank into a nearby chair and immediately pulled out a pen and began translating. He began to get the feeling he knew where this was going. 

It was an hour later when a frustrated Dean Winchester finally finished his translation. (He was beginning to regret not paying more attention during Latin class, because Cas had really made him work for this one.)

“Declaration of affection for Dean,” it read. What followed was an entire page of Latin that was really just a very romantic (and very cheesy) way of Cas telling Dean that he was “attractive and amazing” and that Cas felt “a deep affection” for him. 

If it had been anyone else, Dean would have laughed at the cliche. But from Cas… from Cas it seemed sweet and meaningful and oh god Cas liked him and didn’t think he was just a stupid, silly underclassman and…

And Dean had his damn room number. 

He was out the door and across campus before he could overthink anything, and he was panting by the time he knocked on Cas’s door.

Dean saw a look of confusion cross Cas’s face as he threw open the door. He was decked out in a tee-shirt and plaid pajama bottoms, and his hair was even more adorably messy than usual. “Dean?” he asked, “What--”

“I read your note,” Dean blurted out, “And, um.” He was suddenly very nervous. “I, uh, ‘afectionum altam nabeo’ for you too…” 

Before he could say anything else, Cas stepped forward and captured Dean’s lips with his own, wrapping one arm around Dean’s waist and pulling him in. Dean relaxed into the touch, parting his lips slightly and allowing Cas to deepen the kiss. He tasted sweet, like honey, and Dean could feel his heart racing. 

Cas pulled away and Dean made a small needy noise in the back of his throat. He didn’t care how pathetic it was, he needed his mentor’s lips on his again. 

Cas laughed quietly and placed a light kiss on Dean’s cheek, taking his hands and pulling them both into Cas’s room. 

“Are you ready for tonight’s lesson, Mr. Winchester?” Cas breathed in Dean’s ear. 

“Don’t worry, Mr. Novak,” Dean replied, “I did my homework.”

Dean didn’t think learning Latin had ever been this sexy.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry for all the terrible cheesiness. I promise I'll do better next time. *Hangs head in shame*


End file.
